- Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to entering protected and dangerous areas of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming
- The actor initially pleaded not guilty in January after receiving citations for trespassing in December
- As a result of the new charge, Brosnan was also fined $1,500
- The quotes came after Brosnan shared an apparently deleted photo of himself posing on top of a snow-covered crust that appeared to be one of the park’s thermal features
Pierce Brosnan pleaded guilty to trespassing into protected and potentially dangerous areas of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
The actor, 70, who previously pleaded not guilty, was ordered to pay fines totaling $1,500 for the violation, according to court documents filed Thursday and obtained by PEOPLE.
Brosnan will pay a $500 fine and a $1,000 community service donation to Yellowstone Forever, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the park. According to the documents, he came to the court hearing by phone.
Pierce Brosnan cited for allegedly trespassing in protected thermal areas of Yellowstone Park
After the hearing, Brosnan shared an official statement on Instagram.
“As an environmentalist, I have the greatest respect and love for our natural world,” he wrote. “However, I made an impulsive mistake – one I don’t take lightly – when I entered a snow-covered thermal area in Yellowstone National Park to take a photo. I did not see a ‘No Trespassing’ sign posted to warn of danger, nor did I hike in the immediate vicinity.”
He continued: “I deeply regret my transgression and sincerely apologize to everyone for trespassing in this sensitive area. Yellowstone and all of our national parks need to be cared for and preserved for all to enjoy. #StayOnTheRoad”
Pierce Brosnan in Montana.
Pierce Brosnan/Instagram
In December 2023, Dear mother! star was cited in Wyoming for trespassing into protected thermal areas of the national park. The quotes came after the actor posed for a seemingly deleted photo he shared TMJ in which it stands on a snow-covered crust that appears to be one of the park’s thermal features.
Brosnan was first issued the misdemeanor charges Nov. 1 for traveling on foot “in all thermal areas and excluding trail-bound Yellowstone Canyon” and “violating restrictions and use restrictions,” according to a criminal complaint filed in December in U.S. District Court in Wyoming.
The actor pleaded not guilty to the park’s allegations that he entered a dangerous and restricted area in January, according to additional court documents.
Pierce Brosnan has pleaded not guilty to charges that he entered a sensitive thermal area in Yellowstone
Five types of hydrothermal features are included in the park, including hot springs, geysers, mud pots, tuff terraces and fumaroles, according to Yellowstone National Park’s official website.
The park warns visitors that it is imperative to follow all safety guidelines because the ground below the thermal areas “may be only a thin crust above the boiling hot springs”, and it has not been confirmed which of these areas are safe or not.
Visitors must also stay on established footpaths as “the pools are acidic enough to burn through your boots”.
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Brosnan’s new movie Unholy Trinity what brought him to Wyoming National Park in October. Filming of the western takes place mainly at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Paradise Valley, it said The Livingston Company.
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While the actor was in the Wyoming portion of the park when he posed for the photos, the park also extends into parts of Montana and Idaho.
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